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Mittwoch, 25. Januar 2017

To keep your hands warm why not knit yourself a pair of these colorful fingerless gloves. These mitts are perfect for the time between two seasons: in autumn or spring you can fold them down to have more freedom of fingers and in winter the upper ribbing covers most of your fingers and keeps them warm. That's why I called them inbetween mitts.

I also knitted them while I was living in a bit of an "inbetween" state. I was set to move back to my home country, but I had to fulfil a contract and therefore to stay on for two more months.

As many of my patterns these fingerless gloves have an unusal construction. They are knitted in one piece, partly knitted flat and partly knitted in the round. They are great to show off you colorful and variegated sock yarn.

Short Rows in the Round (and t+ky) I learned short rows in the round with this helpful video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCgycxLce94; however, I ended up doing the pick-ups differently.- "Wrapping" of the StitchesBasically, when you're on the RS, you do wrap the working yarn around the next stitch (from front to back) and then turn your work, i.e. the "normal" wrap and turn (w+t).When you are on the WS you slip the last stitch, turn your work with the yarn in front, wrap the yarn around the RIGHT needle and knit the slipped stitch. That creates a sort of double-stitch - one half of it has to be knitted together with the stitch in front when you're picking up the stitches. In the pattern, throughout the pattern I will call this stitch,t+ky (short for "turn and knit w/yarn-over").- Picking-upWhen encountering a w+t, I turned the wrapped stitch on the needle, picked up the wrap from the front and knitted the stitch and the wrap together through the back of the loop.When reaching the stitch BEFORE the “double-stitch”, I turned this stitch and knitted it together with the yo through the back of the loop.

Grafting in garter stitch: A technique to get an invisible (knitted) seam - this technique is shown in this YouTube Video by knittinghelp.com.

Picking up stitches from a gap or ditch: After both three needle bind-offs there is one left over stitch which tends to have a distance to the stitches next to it. To avoid holes, I usually pick up one stitch from the gap and decrease over the new stitch in the following row (see also this YouTube video where it is shown on the example of a thumb gusset). In my experience (or the way I knit :) it's even better to pick up two stitches and knit decreases over them in the following two rows.

Gauge, Size and Possible Adjustments

The pattern is written in a way that it can be adapted to most hand sizes. However, in order to make the thumb fit, the gauge should roughly be as follows:

12 garter stitch ridges (i.e. 24 rows) gave 5 cm in height, and 13 stitches in garter stitch 5 cm in width. If your gauge is way off, you'd need to adjust the number of stitches for the thumb.

The finished piece (as knitted by me) measures 25 cm in length, and about 20 cm in circumference at the widest point. The lower ribbing (cuff) measures 9 cm, and the upper edge about 7.5 cm.

If you want to have the upper and lower ribbing longer or shorter. you can do this by adjusting the number of stitches you cast on in the beginning of part 1 and part 3.

General Construction

Each glove is knitted in five parts - see picture on the right.
Part 1 – the cuff – is knitted flat, in garter stitch only, with a few short rows for shaping. Part 2 – the lower triangle of the part that covers the palm is knitted in the round, also with short rows to achieve the triangular shape. Part 3 – the upper ribbing and the rest of the part covering the palm – is knitted flat. Part 4 – the lower part of the thumb – is knitted in the round; and finally part 5 – the thumb ribbing – is knitted flat again.
The glove is knitted in one piece, i.e. you do not have to cut the yarn while knitting it and there are only two ends to weave in in the end.

Instructions

Part 1: Cuff

pCO 25 and knit first row with working yarn

Row 1 (WS): sl1, k to end

Row 2 (RS): k all

Row 3 (WS): sl1, k to end

Repeat row 2 and 3 three more times

Row 10 (RS, WS): k14, w+t, k to end

Now repeat the following sequence until the cuff fits around your wrist:

Knit rows 2 and 3 five times, then knit row 10 once. Make sure to end on a WS row. (After a few rows, your piece should look similar to picture 1.)

I continued this until there were 42 ridges at the narrower edge - then the cuff fitted around my wrist.

Move stitches from provisional CO to a third needle, hold togehter with current stitches and do a 3 needle BO until there is only one stitch left.

Part 2: Palm, lower part

Turn the mitt right sides out (i.e. so that the seam from the three-needle BO is on the inside). Starting from the stitch that is still on your needle pick up and knit stitches from the upper edge of the cuff. Join in round. Your piece should now look similar to the one in picture 2.

I picked up 42 sts from the edge and 2 sts around the stitch that was left over from three-needle BO, so in total I had 45 sts.

Now the mitt is worked in the round, but with a some short rows (worked back and forth) for shaping. The first stitch of your round is the stitch that is left over from your three-needle BO.

Count your stitches and - while knitting round 1 - place one stitch marker at the beginning of the round. (end-of-round-marker, or EM for short), place another marker after half the number of your stitches (half-of-round-marker, or HM for short).

Since I had an uneven number of stitches (45 sts), I placed the marker between the 22nd and 23rd stitch and pretended I had an even number of stitches.

Round 1: k all

Round 2: k to 3 sts before HM, mk1, k6, mk1, k to 2 before EM, w+t

p to 2 before EM, t+ky,

k to end

Round 3: k all

Round 4: k to 6 sts before HM, mk1, k12, mk1, k to 4 before EM, w+t

p to 4 before EM, t+ky

k to 6 before EM, w+t

p to 6 before EM, t+ky,

k to end

Round 5: k all

Round 6: k to 3 sts before HM, mk1, k6, mk1, k to 6 before EM, w+t

p to 6 before EM, t+ky,

k to 8 before EM, w+t

p to 8 before EM, t+ky,

k to end

Round 7: k all

Round 8: k to 6 sts before HM, mk1, k12, mk1, k to 10 before EM, w+t

p to 10 before EM, t+ky,

k to 12 before EM, w+t,

p to 12 before EM, t+ky,

k to 14 before EM, w+t,

p to 14 before EM, t+ky,

k to end

Round 9: k all

Round 10: k to 2 before the last w+t, w+t,

p to 2 before last t+ky, t+ky,

k to 2 before last w+t, w+t

p to 2 before last t+ky, t+ky

k to end

Repeat rounds 9 and 10 until there are only 6 or less stitches between the turns, i.e. until the shortest short row consists only of 6 stitches or fewer.

Since I had a total of 53 stitches in the round (I started with 45 and increase 4 x 2 stitches), I had to repeat both rows once more to have 7 stitches left between the last 2 turns.

Part 3: Palm, upper part

From now on the gloves is knitted in rows, either from the outside or inside of the glove.

Row 1: (RS) k to HM, CO20 with knitted cast on (these 20 new stitches will be the upper ribbing and the end of the upper ribbing will be the new "end")

Row 2: (WS) k19, ssk, ssk, p end, pick up 1 stitch from gap to lower edge of knitted CO, then pick up 20 stitches from the lower edge of knitted CO - your piece should now look similar to the one in picture 3.

Row 3: (RS) k19, ssk, ssk, k2, w+t, (WS) p2, k to end

(RS) k19, ssk, k2, w+t, (WS) p2, k to end

(RS) k19, ssk, k to end

Row 4: (WS) k19, ssk, ssk, p2, w+t, (RS) k to end, turn,

(WS) k19, ssk, p2, w+t, (RS) k to end, turn

(WS) k19, ssk, p to last 20 stitches, k20

Row 5: (RS) k19, ssk, k2, w+t, (WS) p2, k to end

(RS) k19, ssk, k2, w+t, (WS) p2, k to end

(RS) k19, ssk, k to end

Repeat rows 4 and 5 until there are 56 or fewer stitches on your needles (the 56 are: 2x20 sts garter stitch (upper edge) and 16 sts stockinette thumb gusset). Make sure to end after a row you knitted from the inside (i.e. with purl stitches between the upper edge (RS)). If you have 56 or less stitches and have just finished a row 4, do an alternative version of row 4 without any short rows and without any decreases (i.e. Row 5b: (RS) k20, p to last 20 sts, k20).

Try your mitts on. if the upper edge does not fit around your fingers, you can add to the upper edge garter stitch ribbing by knitting a few garter stitch ridges as follows:
Row 1: k20 turn (do not wrap)
Row 2: k20

Hold right sides of the upper edge together and do a three-needle BO of the upper 20 stitches (see picture 4. Secure the stitch that's left over from the three-needle BO and turn the upper part back right sides out.

Part 4: Thumb, lower part

Starting with the stitch that's left over from three-needle BO start the thumb. There are about 16 sts left. Pick up 1 or 2 stitches from the gap between the leftover stitch and the rest of the stitches, knit the 16 stitches, and pick up 1 or 2 stitches from the gap on the other side. Over the next four rounds, knit stockinette stitch while decreasing over the stitches you picked up over the gap - until there are 16 stitches left (or the number of stitches you're aiming for).

If there were 16 stockinette stitches left after part 3 was finished:

Round 1: k2, ssk, k to 3 sts before end, k2tog, k1

Round 2: k1, ssk, k to 3 sts before end, k2tog, k1

Knit about 2 more rounds of stockinette stitch.

Part 5: Thumb, ribbing

This bit is really very fiddly - if you don't like doing this, you can alternatively just knit a few rows of k1p1-ribbing and then bind off loosely. But I wanted a "garter stitch" ribbing to finish the thumb, so I did it as follows.

With scrap yarn do a provisional CO of 7 stitches on a new needle. Hold this needle close to the thumb stitches of your glove and (as RS) knit these 7 new stitches. As WS, sl1, k5, and do an ssk with the last of the new stitches and the first of the original thumb stitches on your needle. Then turn your work, slip the first stitch (the ssk from the last row) and k to end (RS). As WS, again sl1, k5, and do an ssk with the last of the new stitches and the next of the original thumb stitches (see photo 5). Repeat until all the original thumb stitches have been used.

Move the stitches from the provisional CO to a new needle and graft both sides in garter stitch (see photo 6).

Freitag, 20. Januar 2017

During the last years, quite a few people have volunteered to translate one (or quite a few) of my patterns. Thank you all for your work! Currently, there are translations to German, Danish, Dutch, Italian, Russian and Czech.

Mittwoch, 11. Januar 2017

To combat the current cold weather, knit yourself a stylish hat with an interesting detail at the crown. It is worked only in knit stitch, so it's the perfect for knitters who do not like to purl. The pattern is written in a way that it can be adapted to your head size.

As with many of my patterns, I don't give exact stitch counts. For the decrease rows, for example I will ask you to count your stitches and decrease to 64 stitches over the next 3 rounds. If you don't like these kinds of instruction, you probably won't like the pattern.

Put the stitches from the provisional CO on a knitting needle and do a three needle BO. Your piece should look similar to picture 1.

Cut both yarns.

Main Part
With MC and bigger needles pick up and knit 4 stitches per 3 garter stitch ridges. Join in round and place end-of-round-marker. Knit about 15 cm of stockinette rounds (or until the hat is "slouchy" enough for you).
Count your stitches and over the next 3 rounds, decrease the number of stitches to 64 stitches.(Just for example, here are my stitch counts: I had 132 stitches and decreased every 4th stitch in the first round (about 99 stitches left), every 4th stitch in the second round (75 stitches left) and then distributed the necessary 11 decreases equally in the third round.)

Crown
Distribute the 64 left stitches on 4 needles. Your piece should look similar to picture 2. (If you only have circulars, you may want to put stitch markers after every 16 stitches).
Now you will work with the first 16 stitches and the adjoining stitches on both sides.

Row 1 (CC): k15, k2tog (i.e. the last stitch on the first needle and the first stitch on the adjoining needle), turn
Row 2 (CC): k15, k2tog (i.e. the last stitch of your row and the first stitch on the adjoining needle, turn
Row 3 (MC): k15, k2tog (again, the last stitch on your "working needle" and the next stitch on the adjoining needle), turn
Row 4 (MC): k15, k2tog, turn
Row 5 (MC): k15, k2tog, turn
Row 6 (MC): k15, k2tog, turn
Repeat rows 1-6 four more times (after a few rows, your piece should look similar to picture 3), then knit rows 1 and 2 one more time.

Now you should have a total of 2x16 stitches left - one needle of the 16 sts that you just worked in CC, and another needle of 16 stitches that haven't been worked with since the main part.

Turn the hat inside out (see picture 4) and with MC do a three-needle bind off.

Mittwoch, 4. Januar 2017

The older I get, the easier I feel chilly - not only at my feet, but also around my belly. The solution to this is a garment that is called Haramaki (腹巻, literally "belly wrap" or "bellyband") in Japanese. Though the ones I found on the internet are just a tube, I wanted a piece of clothing that could be wrapped and adjusted around my belly and hips, that's why I knitted a flat one and included a strap on either side.

The piece is knitted all in garter stitch and therefore quite easy to knit. It is suitable for beginners as well.

Short rows (with any technique you like) - since this is all garter stitch I used "wrap and turn" technique (w+t, see this YouTube video by Very Pink Knits). But any other technique will work fine as well.

Construction
As shown below the piece is constructed of two straps and a body piece. You begin by knitting one strap, then you increase to get the desired width for your body piece - here you insert a whole. Then you knit the piece including some short rows (to make it fit around waist and hips). When the body piece is long enough to fit around your waist, you decrease and knit the second strap. The hole is needed to pull one strap through.

Measurements, How to Calculate the Short Rows and Gauge
In order to knit this piece to fit your body, you need to take the following measurements:

your waist circumference (w) and

your hip circumference (h)

Now calculate the ratio of these two measurements. For me (waist = 80 cm, hips = 100 cm), it was 8 to 10 or 4 to 5. This means that for every 4 garter stitch ridges at the upper end (waist) I needed to knit 5 garter stitch ridges at the lower end (hip). In turn, this meant that after every 4 garter stitch ridges I needed to insert a short row on lower end (hip).

If you don't want to calculate, I have included below a summary of a clothing size table for ladies I found on wikipedia, together with the ratio of normal ridges to short row ridges that I would suggest for the given size: e.g. if you are an S-size, knit 3 normal ridges and then one short row ridge or for and XL knit 5 normal ridges and then one short row ridge. (Yes, the ratio is not very exact, but the piece will be very stretchy, so it should be fine.)

XS

S

M

L

XL

XXL

Waist (cm)

58 – 64

65 – 72

73 – 81

82 – 90

91 to 102

103 – 114

Hips (cm)

80 – 89

90 – 97

98 – 104

105 – 112

113 to 122

123 – 134

Ratio

3 to 4

3 to 4

4 to 5

4 to 5

5 to 6

5 to 6

With the yarn I used I had the following gauge in garter stitch: 16 sts gave 10 cm in width and 15 ridges (30 rows) gave 10 cm in height.
The finished piece was about 35 cm wide in the mid part of the body piece.
If you have different gauge, you can adjust the width by doing more or less increasing rows (and also the decreasing rows).

Then continue with some increases on the lower end (hip):
R1 (RS): k all
R2 (WS): k to last st, kfb
Repeat until there are 56 sts on your needles

Measure the length of the piece from the beginning of the increasing part.

Mid part
According to the ratio calculated above knit normal ridges and short row ridges.
Normal ridge (RS and WS): k all, turn, k all
Short row ridge (RS and WS): k25, w+t, k to end

Repeat until the lower edge measures your waist circumference minus the length of increasing part. The piece will stretch quite a bit when you're wearing it, so stretch it while measuring it.

Decreasing part
R1 (RS): k2tog, k to end
R2 (WS): k all
Repeat until there are only 48 sts on your needles

R1 (RS): k2tog, k to last 2 sts, ssk
R2 (WS): k all
Repeat until there are only 10 sts on your needles2nd strap
Now that there are only 10 stitches on your needles, knit garter stitch rows (k all), until the strap is as long as the first strap - finish the tip as follows:
R1 (RS): k2tog, k to last 2 sts, ssk
R2 (WS): k all
Repeat until there are only 2 sts left.
BO these 2 sts.

Sonntag, 1. Januar 2017

Over the holidays I stayed at home a lot - and knitted socks. So here's another idea for knitted socks, however this exact pattern only works with a stitch count that is a multiple of 12. These socks are knitted top down with a heel flap.

As in my last blogpost with a sock idea, this is NOT a complete knitting pattern, but just a sketch or rather a stitch pattern (over 12 stitches and 12 rows) that can be used for socks. So this only works for socks with a number of stitches that is a multiple of 12.
For socks there are many general instructions and tutorials around, I have linked to some in the Techniques section of this post.

Materials

about 60 grams of fingering weight yarn - or yarn where a multiple of 12 stitches is big enough to fit around your ankles

3mm knitting needles (I used dpns, but a circular needle works as well with the magic loop method) - or needles where the multiple of 12 stitches fits around your ankles